Kingdom Hearts: War and Revolution
by Omnipotens
Summary: Kairi gives the bottle to Riku and Sora, who read it and learn its contents.
1. Chapter 1

Kairi saw Sora and Riku and as she met with them on their little paopu tree islet; she took a moment to catch her breath. After that, she held up the bottle and said, "Look." "From the King?", Sora asked as he saw the King's emblem on the letter, in the shape of a mouse silhouette. He pulled out the letter inside and began reading it. Kairi and Riku read it along side him. Riku read it very quickly and had a smirk on his face. Upon first glance, Kairi saw the word "trouble" and was concerned the whole time she read it, but Sora kept a straight face while he analyzed it the letter:

Dear King Mickey,

I have grave news. In your absence, a plot to overthrow your rule has taken into effect. Do not return here. Stay on that island and remain safe. There, you can find a way to save the kingdom from the enemies. All I know is that some high ranking military officials, a member of the royal court and someone from the darkness is behind this trouble. I have sent Davidson, a royal guard, to give this to you. I have little time, so this is all I can say. Do not worry about Minnie or me; I will try to evacuate her. Good luck.

Sincerely,

Grand Royal Advisor Simon

Riku went back to sitting on the tree while the other two read on, still smirking. "What's so funny?", Sora asked Riku.

Riku, "This, we're finally back home and more problems pop up."

"Shouldn't we try to figure out what to do?", Kairi asked.

"Yeah, like who's this Davidson guy? Did he give you this bottle, Kairi?", Sora replied.

"No, I found it at the edge of the tide.", Kairi answered.

"That means that Davidson didn't make it", Riku said.

"What can we do? Goofy, Donald, and the King took the gummi ship back to their castle", Sora said.

"How do you think this bottle got here?", Riku asked. Sora and Kairi looked puzzled. "It came here from the ocean. The ocean is somehow connected to the worlds, I know it."

"Really?", Sora asked.

"Of course", Riku said. "That's how Kairi got here in the first place."

"No wonder you thought the raft would work", Sora responded.

"Right", Riku said. "And that's exactly how we'll find help. We'll sail out to the sea, that is, if you want to. I know I'm going."

"I'll go", Kairi said.

"Me too", Sora added.

"Well, let's get the raft ready", Riku said.

They all went to the raft, which remained untouched for a year. They loaded it with food that they had. Suddenly, someone came running up.

"It's Selphie!", Kairi shouted.

Selphie yelled, "Kairi! You're safe! Who are those two…Riku?, Sora? You guys are al okay!"

She ran up to them and gave them all a big hug.

Kairi asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I just came here, but didn't expect to find you all here", Selphie said enthusiastically.

"Unfortunately, we gotta go", Riku said reluctantly.

Selphie then said with disappointment, "Why? Why leave again?"

"Because…someone needs us", Sora said.

Kairi tried to reassure Selphie by saying, "We'll be back, but don't tell anyone that you've seen us."

"What about Wakka and Tidus?", Selphie asked.

Kairi said stubbornly, "Not them either."

"We need to go!", Sora interjected.

"Right", Kairi said. "We'll see you soon, Selphie."

Riku put the sail in place and the raft began to move out to sea. Selphie was waving to them. She shouted her farewell and the three friends on the raft did as well. They went far out to sea and as the sun was setting, something changed, as though they had covered a great distance.


	2. Chapter 2

The three of them fell asleep and they awoke, hours later, on a beach unlike their own. Sora was hungry and began eating the food that they had packed. To be kind, he offered some to his friends and they gladly took it. After eating, they gazed at the land before them.

"What is this place", Riku asked.

The beach had grey sand and the ocean there was green. Off toward the mainland, in the distance, the earth was blue stone. Much of the geography was they of plateaus, every layer bedrock the same. It seemed familiar to Sora somehow, but he could not quite place his hand on it. Oddly enough, Kairi recognized it too, but she was uncertain.

Sora said, "You know this place seems a lot like Radiant Garden."

"Yeah, it does", Riku replied.

"Radiant…Garden", Kairi said groggily.

"You okay, Kairi?", Sora asked.

Kairi then toppled over and her vision went black, but only for a moment. She opened her eyes and saw that things had changed. It was nighttime and she was in someone's arms. She could not do anything, she could not move. She saw a man in a brown hood and robe.

"Take the girl to somewhere desolate and hidden", the man said.

"I know just the place", a voice returned.

"Good…use that boat. Take her close to shore and then dump her there. We need to hide her so she that she is not found. She is vital to the plan. We need to be discreet so that she will fall into my plan perfectly, so do not make yourself known. When the time is right, we will strike and draw out the Keyblade Bearer.", the man said.

"Yes, My Lord", the voice said.

The voice came from whoever was holding her. The person walked toward a rowboat and she heard some shouting, "Kairi! Kairi wake up!", and then the vision faded.

Kairi awoke to find Riku and Sora looking down at her on the ground. Sora had been shaking her in an attempt to waken her.

"She's come to," Riku said with a sigh.

"Yeah", Sora said in relief. "What happened to you?"

Kairi answered, "I don't know. I saw through the eyes of someone. These people were taking this girl away. I could see through that girl's eyes."

"Who was in there?", Sora asked.

"I could not see any faces", Kairi said. "The only one that I could see that well as a man that had his face hidden. All I saw was silver hair coming out a little."

"Well…we had better find our way and get to the city of Radiant Garden, if that is where we are", Riku said.

"Right", agreed Sora.

They all walked into the gaps of the blue plateaus, trying to get through to other side.  
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Mickey had been reunited with Minnie, but only briefly. She said that she was going to visit Radiant Garden. Therefore, after he returned, she left. Mickey was displeased, but Minnie had told him it was urgent, but as to why, she did not know. Mickey sat in his throne chair, waiting for her.

"Golly, Minnie leaves when I come back", King Mickey said. "Why would she leave?"

Mickey then noticed that his generals entered the throne room. They were all taller than he was. They looked like Goofy-folk, except they seemed more professional and hardy.

"Hey fellas!", cried King Mickey. "Did you guys come to welcome me back?

They all said nothing. Suddenly, the lights went out and every window and shutter in the room sealed shut. The entire room went black. Mickey felt a hand on his shoulder. He leapt out of his seat and braced himself.

"What's going on!", he shouted.

"We are relieving you of your command, Sire", a fell voice said.

"I know that voice…DRAZEN!", said the King. "What're you doing!?"

"We are taking this kingdom, since you are not fit to rule it", boasted Drazen.

"I left to save the kingdom!", Mickey shouted.

"You deserted us", Drazen said. "If it were so important, then you would have told us personally. You cannot come back and rule, you are not trustworthy."

"You won't convince the people", Mickey insisted. "They stand by me!"

Green flames in the center of the throne room appeared and they illuminated the room a little. The flames vanished and another voice spoke out.

"That is why I am here", it said.

"You…Maleficent!", King Mickey cried.

"Yes…Drazen, I cannot find the Queen", Maleficent said.

"But…the Cornerstone of Light should stop you", declared Mickey.

"We disposed of it", Drazen said. Generals, take him to the dungeon.

"NO!", Mickey thundered.

He tried to summon his Keyblade, but it would not come. Thin air remained in his grasp.

"WHAT!?", he shouted.

The General ambushed him in the dark and took him away. Mickey struggled to get free, but nothing could do so. He was dragged to the deepest dungeon and chained to the wall, where he was hung by the wrists.

Drazen said, "The gummi ship was probably the Queen. They must have evacuated her in time, but why did the King not flee?"

Maleficent responded, "I think that there was leak of information; if I know that Queen, the only ones that can save her now are Sora and his friends. She would likely go to them. We must shoot her from the skies so they will not find out.

"We may already be too late", Drazen said. "She left fifteen minutes ago. We will need to send in our fastest aces."  
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Minnie was in the Royal Gummi Ship with the Grand Advisor, talking with him in the passenger area. They talked for a long time and then she was asked something.

"Now, may I ask, Your Majesty, what caused the delay?", Simon asked.

"Oh, I was just seeing the King as he returned", Minnie said.

"Oh no, I have failed", Simon said. "If that is true, we are already too late."

"What?", Minnie asked. "What is the matter?'

A slight vibration went through the ship for a few seconds, which was followed by violent tremors of the ship and they both fell out of their seats.

"I'll tell you later!", Simon shouted over the sound of explosions. He pressed a button and spoke into a microphone on his armrest, "Pilot, take defensive maneuvers!"

"This is a royal ship!", the pilot returned. "It's not built for that, but we're almost there!

A monstrous explosion sounded and hurt their ears.

"We just lost our fuel line!", the pilot shouted as the ship crashed toward the world of Radiant Garden.


	3. Chapter 3

Sora, Riku, and Kairi saw something crash from the sky, in a flaming ball.

"What was that!", Sora shouted.

"I don't know", Riku said back. It landed a few miles from here, let's go check it out.

The three friends sprinted toward the crash site, they followed the pillar of smoke. It took about fifteen minutes to get there, and they were ready to faint when they arrived. They saw the large gummi ship, in flames, and the survivors.

"Is that the Queen?", Sora asked.

"I think so", Riku said. "Hey, Queen Minnie!"

The Queen looked at them and waved them over to her. Sora, Riku, and Kairi ran over to her.

Kairi asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes", the Queen answered.

Despite the fact she said yes, she seemed very stressed and her clothes were covered in dirt and soot. Then they noticed Simon, a tall man, with neatly combed hair, despite the crash.

"Who is that?", Sora asked.

"I am Simon, the Grand Advisor to His Majesty", Simon replied. "Who might I ask are you?"

"I'm Sora", Sora said.

"I'm Riku", Riku added.

"Hey, I'm Kairi", she said.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance", Simon said.

"Are you guys the only ones?", Sora asked.

"Well, us and…the pilot", Simon said gravely. "But…"

Simon turned to the body of the pilot, who had blood trailing down his mouth and eyebrow.

"He did not survive the crash", Simon concluded. "…Now you say that you're Sora, the Sora I've heard about?"

"Yes, that's him", Minnie said.

"You might be able to help us", Simon said. "First, I need to fill you in."

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One of the generals, at Disney castle approached Drazen, who now sat in the throne.

"Drazen", he said.

"What is it?", Drazen asked.

"The Queen's gummi ship was shot down", the general said.

"Down?", Drazen asked. "Does that mean that it made it to Radiant Garden?"

"I suppose but…", the general started.

"But she may still be alive", Drazen interrupted. "We need to find her and kill her and anyone else that may have survived."

"Let me take care of that", Maleficent said. "After all, we had a deal."

"Very well", Drazen said. "Have you controlled the Kingdom?"

Maleficent responded, "Yes, My Heartless have the people in line."

"But they're not stealing hearts?", asked Drazen.

"Why no, I did as you wished", Maleficent said.

Drazen looked at the general.

"You're dismissed", he said to him.

The general turned around and left. He went out through that small door that opens in the very large one.

"I hope you disposed of that man sent to warn the King", Drazen said you Maleficent.

"Now I told you that I did. Is my word not worthy of your trust?", Maleficent questioned. "Have I not been true to my word?"

Drazen paused and said, "Yes, you have, my apologies."

"Apology accepted", she said with an evil grin.

Unbeknownst to Drazen and Maleficent, eyeballs in a painting moved about, watching them and eavesdropping. The eyes withdrew into the wall.

The bearer of the eyes said to his companion, "We gotta go to tell the King."

"Let's go", his partner returned. "Good thing they don't know about these secret passageways in the walls.

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"So you got the letter we sent to the King?", Simon asked Kairi.

"Yeah, I got it and then we all read it", answered Kairi. "And then we left to help."

"Well, you could help us get the last of what can be salvaged", said Minnie.

"Sure", agreed Sora.

Over the next several minutes, they spent their time looking through the ruined ship, still flaming in some places gathering food, clothes, anything that could be of help to the journey to find civilization, which could be a while. Sora then had a notion that needed answering.

Sora asked, "How did you know the King would be at our world?"

"Well, it is a long kept secret known only to world rulers", replied Simon. "It comes from ancient legends of the Keyblade War. That the center of all the worlds is located deep in the ocean and the ocean connects all the worlds there. From there, you could go to any world."

"What did I tell you?", Riku bragged.

"Wow, you really were right, Riku", said Sora.

"What's that in the sky?", asked Kairi.

They saw gummi ships hovering above in the sky.

"Gummi ships!", yelled Simon. "They may the ones that shot us down!"

Heartless beamed down from them. Shadows, Neoshadows, Soldiers, and Shadowballs all came down. They were completely surrounded by them; there had to be at least one hundred total. Sora erected his armed and tried to call forth the Keyblade, but nothing came.

"I can't get my Keyblade!", Sora said distressed.

"Me neither!", Riku shouted.


	4. Chapter 4

The Heartless came closer to them and the ground began to transform into darkness. A Shadow lunged at Kairi and knocked her off her feet. Darkness began to ensnare Kairi. Sora dashed to her and took her hand.

"Kairi!", he shouted.

Heartless attacked Sora too and darkness started pulling them in. Riku saw his friends' peril and then it dawned on him to use the power of darkness. He brought forth Soul Eater and began attacking the Heartless that threatened Sora and Kairi. However, he had to protect the Queen and Simon too, so there was little he could do. Sora and Kairi's hands remained clasped together.

"I won't let go", Kairi said.

"I won't either", returned Sora.

Light formed at their hands. It became brighter and brighter and soon a flashed and exploded with a force, Sora and Kairi's hands came apart and Sora blacked out. The shockwave obliterated all of the Heartless. When the light faded, Riku saw Sora out cold on the ground, laying face down. He ran up to him.

"Sora!", yelled Riku. "Are you okay?"

He turned him over and woke him up.

"I'm not Sora", he said.

"Wait…Roxas?", asked Riku.

"Yeah", Roxas said.

"Then where's…?", Riku asked.

He looked around for Sora. Sora's body was a little farther away.

Riku printed toward Sora and woke him up.

"Ah, Riku, where's Kairi?", he asked.

"I don't know", Riku said.

Sora got up and looked around, he did not see her.

"The darkness must've gotten her", Riku said.

Sora saw Roxas and was greatly surprised.

"Roxas?", Sora asked.

"Yeah", Roxas said.

"How'd you get here?", Sora asked.

"I don't know", he replied. "I just remember appearing."

"Roxas, you say?", Simon said. "Who exactly is he?"

"He's Sora's nobody", Riku said. "Sora lost his heart a while ago and got it back, but he still had a Nobody, and that's Roxas. They reunited into one body recently, but now they're separate again."

"How'd this happen?", Roxas asked.

"We don't know either," Riku said. "What we need to do now is to find a place where we can get help, and then we can get these questions answered."

"What about Kairi?", Sora questioned angrily.

"We can't do anything now, especially where we are", Riku told him. "If this is indeed Radiant Garden, then we can get all the help we need and maybe even find out what's going on."

"Alright, let's go then", said Sora. "You coming along, Roxas?"

"Sure, I guess I've got nothing better to do", he said.

Then, they all heard something coming closer. It started small and in creased in noise.

"Something's coming", the Queen said.

A motorcycle sped toward them and stopped within feet of Sora. Sora braced himself for another enemy.

A helmet concealed the driver's face. He stepped off the motorcycle.

The driver said, "Well, whaddya know? It's Sora and his friends.

The driver removed his helmet and revealed that he was none other than Cid.

"Cid!", shouted Sora. "Are we ever glad to see you!"

"I saw your smoke when you crashed", Cid said. "It looks pretty bad. I don't think I even I could fix 'er up."

"Could you help us?", the Queen asked.

"Why of course, ma'am", Cid replied.

He reached in his pocket and took out a two-way radio.

"Cid here calling for some extra transports. I've got Sora here with some o' his friends. Send in Cid Jr."

He turned off the radio.

"We'll be waitin' 'bout five minutes", said Cid.

"Good", Riku said.

Riku fell down on the ground.

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The two partners in walls walked for several minutes in search of their King.

"We've been searching all over", one of them said. "Are you sure you know where we're going?"

"Gawrsh, I thought so", the other replied. "It's seems kinda different somehow. I think we're lost."

"Lost!", thundered the first. "I thought you knew the way!"

"I did too, but I guess not", the other said.

"Oh, WAHYAHHYAHHYAHH!", the first one shouted.

He shoved his partner against the wall of the secret tunnel, which immediately gave way and slid open in to a room.

They both fell in and got up.

"See, I told I'd find the place", the other said.

King Mickey heard the ruckus and asked, "Who's there?"

"Why it's your buddies, Your Majesty", said the other partner.

"Donald? Goofy?", the King asked.

"The ones and only", they said.

"Good, can you get me down?" the King asked.

"Yep, good thing we swiped one of them keys", Goofy said.

He unlocked the shackles that bound Mickey's wrists to the walls.

"You okay, Your Majesty?", Donald asked.

"Yep, now let's get out of here", Mickey said.

"Yeah, but does anyone know the way back?", Goofy asked.

"Ohhh", Donald moaned. "You don't know the way back?"

"Well, in that case, we'll just have to sneak through the halls", the King said.

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The Heartless brought Maleficent what they found. Upon seeing their capture Maleficent smiled. She entered the throne room to Drazen.

"Drazen", she said. "The Heartless did not destroy the Queen, but they did find something else useful."

"What do you mean!?", Drazen boomed. "We need the Queen dead to ensure our take over!"

Maleficent signaled the Heartless in and they brought in two girls, Kairi and Naminé. They were both unconscious.

"These are just two girls1!", Drazen said.

"We do, however, have something of great power…", Maleficent assured him. "…a Princess of Heart."

"Really?", Drazen asked, well that's perfect. "Which one is the Princess?"

"The one with the red hair", said Maleficent.

"Who is the other?", Drazen asked.

"Her nobody", Maleficent replied.

Drazen asked, "Of what significance is she?"

"She can control the one will try to save Kairi, Sora, The Keyblade Bearer", Maleficent said.

"Good…our plans are ensured to succeed then", said Drazen.

"Yes, now I will take care of this.

Dark green flames consumed them and Kairi and Naminé separated and appeared in different chambers somewhere in the castle. Naminé awoke soon to find where she was.

"How did I get here?", she spoke.

--------------------------------


	5. Chapter 5

"Riku!" Sora shouted.

He ran over to Riku, who was unconscious.

"Wake up! Riku, Wake up!" he kept yelling.

"They'll be here soon. Don't you worry", Cid said.

About five minutes passed and then the sounds of engines came. Sora looked up and saw a large craft with large spinning propellers and wings with powerful engines. It amazed him at how large it was.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"That's Cid Jr.", said Cid. "Come on; let's get your friend up there."

They both walked over to Riku and picked him up. They carried him to the craft, which had decreased in altitude and lowered a boarding ramp for them to walk on and go into Cid Jr. They carried him in and took him to the rest center, where they laid Riku on a bed, while the Queen, Simon, and Roxas went to the passenger seats. They took off and went to the city. After roughly five more minutes, they landed hovered just above the top of the castle and dropped them off on the off. They rushed Riku to a bedroom in the castle at Radiant Garden.

--------------------------------------------

The King, Goofy, and Donald carefully snuck through the halls of the castle, trying to avoid the guards. They came to a point where they could not proceed without detection.

"Okay, guys, here's the plan", Mickey said. "All the windowsills have banners hanging from them. Now the windows are high up there, but we can climb up the banners and escape through the window. This is our only way out."

Goofy and Donald nodded in approval. Donald began climbing, followed by Goofy and then Mickey. Donald got near to the top and stood on the windowsill. Goofy got up there and tried to stand on the windowsill, but did not quite have enough room to balance himself correctly. He fell off and Mickey, who was still climbing, spared an arm and grabbed Goofy. Mickey could barely hold on to the banner and Goofy. As Mickey's hand began to slip, Donald grabbed it and tried to pull them up, but he lost his footing and the weight of Goofy and Mickey pulled him down and they all collapsed, hitting the ground with a crash. There were four guards in that hallway and they all heard them and ran over to them and put lances to their throats. They heard to gunshots and two of the guards were frozen in full body ice cubes. The two other guards turned around and were punched out by a man.

"Your Majesty", we need to get you out of here.

"Who are you?" the King asked.

"My name's Dack", said the man. "I'm here to help."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Donald said testily.

"He did save us", Goofy said.

"Yeah, I think we can trust him", Mickey said reassuringly.

"Good, come on, I know a better way out, a way with less guards", Dack said.

"Let's follow", said Mickey.

Dack led them through the halls, armed with his gun. They came to a hallway intersection where Dack halted.

"Wait, they've got guards here", Dack whispered.

A general was talking to one of the guards.

"Now if Naminé does not cooperate, torture her until she will", the general said.

"Aye, sir", the guard responded.

The general left and the guard preceded to Naminé's holding cell.

"Naminé…why does that sound familiar?" Goofy mumbled.

"Jiminy mentioned that name, remember?" Donald said. "Thank Naminé was what he told us.

"Naminé…of course the girl that can control Sora's memories", Mickey said. "How did they get her? And, why would they need her? You think they want to erase his memories?"

"Sora? You mean the Keyblade Master?" asked Dack.

"Yep" replied Mickey. "That's him."

"This is bad", said Dack. Listen, Simon and I discovered this was conspiracy was going to happen before you arrived. I told Simon to send a letter to the island where you would be, but it did not get there in time. I do know that island is the residence of Sora. If he found it, then he's our only link to the outside that can spread the word and get us help. If they get Naminé to erase his memories, we have no way of informing our outside allies of helping us."

"Wow, you're right", Mickey said. "We'd better follow that guard."

"Right", Dack said.

He stepped out into the open, fired a shot at the guard, and froze him solid.

They all went down the hall and took a left and saw the guard in the distance. They quickly pursued him, but he passed through a door that was quickly locked behind him.

"How do we get in?" Mickey asked.

"We have to wait for someone with some keys", Dack said, disappointed.

"Can't you use your keyblade, King Mickey?" Goofy asked.

Mickey frowned and said, "No…I can't."

Meanwhile, Naminé was in her cell, tied to a chair. The guard stepped in and, in dark green flames, Maleficent materialized.

"Now Naminé, all I want is for you to help us with Sora", she said with an evil humor.

"I won't do that. I won't betray Sora", said Naminé.

"You know your orders", Maleficent said.

The guard, brandishing club, beat Naminé with it. She screamed painfully. The guard continued to slam the club into her, bashing her face, torso, arms. Naminé screamed louder and louder, tears streaming down her face that soon mixed with the blood coming out of her nose and mouth.

By this point, Dack saw guard approaching. Everyone hid and when the guard came close enough, Dack dashed up to him, elbowed him in the gut, and then pistol-whipped him on the back of the head, knocking him out. He crouched down and checked his waist. He found a ring of keys. He tried them, one after another. The fifth one opened the door, revealing a hallway of holding cells.

"Are you going to help me now?" Maleficent asked.

"N-no", Naminé declined.

"I have no time for this", snapped Maleficent. "Guard, use more drastic measures for the next few minutes."

Maleficent vanished in her trademark flames and the guard walked over to the table in the room and picked up a large sledgehammer. He approached Naminé with it, ready to strike.

"NO! NO! NOOOOO!" Naminé cried in fear.

Dack heard the screams and ran to the cell door from where he heard it. He kicked the door opened and fired his gun, ensnaring the guard in ice.

"Are you Naminé?" he asked her.

"Y-yes", she said groggily.

Dack untied her and said, "I'm here to save you."

He picked her up and held her in his arms.

He left the cell room and proceeded to the door at the hall's end, where Mickey, Goofy, and Donald waited.

"Let's go!" Dack shouted.

They all ran through the halls, carefully avoiding detection.

Maleficent reappeared in the cell room and saw the guard in the ice and Naminé gone. She reappeared before Drazen.

"Where's Naminé?" she asked.

"She's not at the cell?" Drazen asked in confusion. "I'll have the alarm sounded."

"No, your guards are incompetent", Maleficent said. "I'm handling this my way."

Mickey and the others raced across the hall.

"We're almost there!" Dack said.

Suddenly, shadow Heartless cut them off. They all stopped as there were too many to stop.

"Everyone turn back", said Mickey.

They turn around to see more Heartless waiting for them there.

"We're trapped!" cried Donald.

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Riku finally came to.

"Ah…guys what happened?" he asked.

"We got you here, to Radiant Garden", answered Sora. "Do you know how you got hurt?"

"Yeah, when that explosion of light happened", said Riku.

"Oh, how did that happen anyway and why did it hurt you?" Sora began to question.

At that moment, Merlin entered the room.

"Hello, Sora", he said.

"Hey, Merlin", Sora said back. "Do you think you can figure out what happened?

"Well, I'll try, but please tell what it is you need to resolve, Sora", said Merlin.

They both filled him in, each describing their sides of the event in specific detail, as though it had just happened.

"Well…it seems to me that your heart and Kairi's heart have a strong connection, even in the deepest of darkness. The light of your hearts may have connected, producing the powerful energy that destroyed your opponents. It probably injured Riku because he was using the power of darkness to fight the Heartless, which is what worries me", Merlin summed up.

"Why?" Sora asked.

"Well, this may have damaged his heart a little", Merlin said worriedly. "If that is the case, then he may lose control over the darkness in his heart. I must ask, why are you here?"

"Oh, I almost forgot!", said Sora. "We got this letter that was meant for King Mickey to read. It warned about someone trying to overthrow him as King. The King has already left and it may be too late."

"Well, I'm glad you told me", Merlin quickly stated. "I'll go over there."

The blue smoke took the place of Merlin and was the opening for his appearance at Disney Castle. He appeared on the floor directly above where Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Naminé, and Dack were located. The floor provided an over view of the floor below and Merlin saw their dangerous situation.

"They look so desperate, wouldn't you say?" a voice said.

Merlin turned and saw that it was Maleficent.

"MALEFICENT!" Merlin shouted, but not loud enough for the others hear.

"Yes", she said as she raised her staff.

When Merlin saw this, he teleported away to avoid her dark blast.

Merlin appeared with Sora again at Radiant Garden.

"Maleficent was there", he said. "She's too powerful for me. I did see the King, Donald, Goofy, a man and a girl too."

"We need to get there", Sora said.

Cid happened to show up and hear that.

"Let's get the gummi ship ready, then", said Cid.

He spoke into a radio and issued the order.

"Come on, follow me", commanded Cid.

Sora and Roxas followed him throughout the castle and out and then they saw a large gummi ship waiting for them.


	6. Chapter 6

Sora and Roxas followed Cid onboard. They went to the cockpit and sat I in the passenger seats behind Cid. Cid strapped himself in, and smiled as he pulled the throttle and the ship lifted into the sky.

------------------------------------------

Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Naminé, and Dack were all trapped and they backed into the wall, looking on at the inevitable despair before them.

"Hey, this seems kinda familiar", Goofy said.

"What do you mean?" Donald asked.

Goofy pushed hard on the wall and it turned and opened like a door.

"See, I know this secret passages pretty well, Donald", Goofy boldly claimed.

"Everyone in now!" Dack shouted as he handed Naminé to Goofy.

They all ran in and Dack drew out his gun. He fired several shots at the ground until much of the floor was frozen over with ice. The Heartless, when they tried to follow, slipped and fell down. Dack ran into the tunnel. Since he was faster than them, he quickly caught up.

"This way to the hangar!" Goofy yelled as they all ran through the secret way.

There was a dead end in the path ahead, but Donald and Mickey, who were ahead of Goofy by then, pushed against the wall and it opened, revealing the hangar. Everyone ran towards the ramp that led up to the door of the ship. At this point, the Heartless were appearing in random points of the castle, trying to find them. Unfortunately, a few popped up in the hangar. They disappeared for few seconds, but returned with more allies and they kept on coming.

"Everyone, go, I'll hold them off!" Dack ordered his comrades.

The others boarded the ship and Dack, somehow knowing that his gun was empty, took out the empty clip and put in a new one. He fired at the Heartless, but these bullets sent them ablaze and flames wrought their ruin.

"Come on!" thundered Mickey.

"We can't leave without Dack", Goofy protested.

"You heard him; we have to go!" cried Mickey as he pressed the launch button.

Dack could here the mechanisms behind him as he tried his best to fend off the Heartless. The trap hole beneath the ship opened and the ship plummeted down. Dack saw this and fired a few more times, vanquishing some more Heartless and then he dived down the chasm, desperate to catch the ship.

He knew the layout of the hangar. He knew that the chasm led to the bottom of the world and into space and if he did not catch the ship in time, then he would surely perish. He pointed his gun up and fired his remaining shots, which gave him more propulsion. His dive speed hastened and he came along side the door of the gummi ship. By now, he could see the stars of the astro-world below, at the bottom of the chasm.

He pulled his gateway to survival open and with his sturdy arms; he climbed inside and shut the door behind him. He felt the fall stop just after doing that and he looked out the window, seeing the universe in depth. He sighed with relief, and walked toward the cockpit.

"Dack, you're okay!" Donald and Goofy said.

"How'd you escape?" the King asked.

"I'd rather not relive that", Dack admitted. "We gotta go fast, though."

"Why?" asked Goofy.

"There are Heartless ships on the radar!" Donald cried.

"That's why", Dack confirmed.

They could see shots being fired at them, but Mickey evaded them by weaving in and out of the crossfire.

"I can't do this for long", despaired Mickey.

"There's something else on the radar", Donald said.

They saw dozens of projectiles in front of them that shot past them. Their target was not anyone on board, but the Heartless in pursuit. The missiles hit their targets, and they were all destroyed.

"Someone's trying to communicate with us", said Donald.

Mickey hesitated and said, "Send them through."

"Hey, are we too late?" a voice asked.

"Hey, is that, uhhh…Cid?" inquired Goofy.

"The one and only", he replied. "How are y'all?"

"Everyone's fine", the King said.

"Well, we're comin' in; you can dock with us", he told them.

This massive ship came into view. It made theirs look puny. Donald's and Goofy's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"Wooooowwww", Donald said in awe. "Why don't we have any ships like that, Your Majesty?"

"Uh, gosh, I don't know", he answered. "I guess we never got enough gummi blocks to build one so big."

The larger ship flew over them. The bottom opened up and they rose into it. The lower doors shut and they were inside. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy stepped out of their ship. The holding area they were in was like a large warehouse. There was a ladder on the wall and they saw Cid climbing down it. He reached the bottom and approached them.

At that very moment, Dack came out holding Naminé. He walked slowly and carefully down the ramp, so he would not drop her or collapse over the edge.

"She needs medical attention", Dack said.

"We'll take the elevator", Cid said. "It'll be easier that way."

He and Dack carried her onto the elevator. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy proceeded to the ladder and climbed it. The reached the top which had a hatch. Mickey, the leader, pushed it open and poked his head out. He looked about and saw Sora and Roxas.

"Hey, fellas!" he exclaimed.

"Mickey!" Sora shared in delight.

Donald and Goofy followed out with Mickey.

"It's great to see you guys again", said Sora.

"Same here", Goofy cheered.

"Wait, is that Roxas?" the King asked.

"Yeah, it's me", Roxas said.

"What's going on?" Mickey inquired. "How did he get involved?"

"We don't know yet", Sora said.

"Well, all the same, it's good to see you, right guys", Donald said.

"I am just glad that you are alright", exhaled Sora. "Ever since we got that letter, I've been worried."

"What letter?" King Mickey asked.

"Kairi found this letter warning you about the betrayal in your kingdom", answered Sora.

"Hmmm…I think we had better fill each other in.

-------------------------------------------------

Dack and Cid rushed Naminé through many the halls of this large ship. They arrived at the medical unit and placed her on a stretcher.

"You can go ahead and see the others", said Cid. "We'll handle this."

"Okay, thanks", Dack said.

He wandered for many minutes, not knowing where he was. Dack eventually found the area in which Sora and the others were.

"So that's how you got here, Roxas", Mickey said. "Very interesting."

"Yeah, but I'm still wondering how this Dack guy got on the ship", Sora pondered.

"Well, that's a story in itself", Dack cut in.

"Who are you?" Sora asked him.

"I'm Dack, Dack Alton", he said.

"Oh, so you helped the King, well, thanks for helping my friend and thanks for saving Naminé", Sora said.

"I was doing my job", Dack said.

"Did you work for the King?" he asked him.

"I never met him until today", Mickey said.

"Who are you, besides Dack, who are and why did you save the these guys and Naminé?" Sora asked boldly.

"I'm a former agent of the AMU", Dack replied.

"What's the AMU?" Sora asked.

"The AMU is a secret society", Dack said. "A long time ago, there was a Keyblade war between light and darkness that caused a lot of damage and took lives. After it was resolved, some people organized and formed the AMU, which means Anti Meddling Union. It is said that meddling between worlds caused the Keyblade War. We stopped meddlers and kept the distance between the worlds, so they never fight again."

"You stopped them?" Sora inquired. "Did everyone just quit?"

"No", Dack said. "The woman responsible for the recent events, Maleficent, attacked the AMU first. She destroyed nearly the entire agency. I'm one of the survivors and was a part of the ADU. The ADU was a branch of the AMU. The ADU was the Anti Darkness Union; we kept the darkness from meddling. It was the largest branch of the AMU and it took most of the damage. Nowadays, most AMU Minors are scattered and we have lost most communication."

"Wow", Sora, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy said together.

"So it really must have been secret for not even you to know, Mickey", Sora said.

"Yeah", agreed Mickey. "But why did you help me? That has nothing to do with meddling."

"It does", said Dack. "We prevent meddling to the most extreme. If the darkness conquers the worlds, then that is definitely meddling. By saving you, an important factor in this coming war, we can ensure that your world is liberated and can return to normal."

The ship shook. Everyone looked around and listened, fearing another assault by the darkness. However, that was not the case. Cid entered the room.

"We've landed", he said.


	7. Chapter 7

Cid led them out of the ship and Roxas saw that Naminé was lying on a stretcher as he came out.

"Naminé!" he shouted as he sprinted toward her. "I'm going with her!"

He ran alongside the stretcher as the medical unit took her to be treated. Everyone received greetings by someone else, Simon.

"Sire, I am glad to see you well!" he said shaking the King's hand.

"Well, I'm glad to see you well too", replied Mickey. "Sora filled me in. That must have been awful, but would you show me to Minnie?"

"Certainly, Your Majesty", said Simon. "Donald, Goofy, you both may come along too."

"Well, sounds good to me", Goofy said with a smile. "What about you, Donald? Donald, why do ya look so blue?"

"It's Daisy, she's still back there", Donald said. "I'm afraid of they'll do to her."

"Gawrsh, you're right", Goofy said.

"Donald, come with me and we'll all talk about this with everyone", said Mickey. "Sora, we'll meet up with you and everyone else a bit later, okay?"

"Take your time", Sora said with a smile. "And don't worry Donald' she'll be safe soon".

Mickey, Simon, Donald, and Goofy pranced off to the castle.

"It's best that they act with all speed", Dack said to Sora.

"Huh, why?" he asked.

"Because…" Dack hesitated. "…there could be some serious problems very soon. Who's in charge here, Cid?"

"That'd me an' the others", answered Cid. "I'll go get them."

Cid strolled into the castle, to find his companions.

"So you're the Keyblade Wielder?" Dack asked him.

"Well, yeah, except I can't use the Keyblade", admitted Sora.

"What?" Dack asked rhetorically. "You should, especially in a time of crisis."

"You seem to know a lot", inferred Sora.

"The AMU knows all about the Keyblade", Dack said. "In fact, we know more about the World than most others. I think I know the answer to the dilemma."

"What?" Sora asked, baffled. "How? Come on, please tell me."

"Before the Organization was stopped, I had managed to track you down, I followed you, secretly."

"Really? You mean that you were around all this time and you never helped?"

"I didn't have the capability. I was more concerned with what is the cause of our present situation, but I did keep an eye on you to make sure that things went well. Now I learned that you stopped the Organization and saved the World when the King returned to the castle. Since you had essentially defeated all the forces of darkness, the Master of Keyblade probably called back your weapon."

"Who is the Master of Keyblade?" asked Sora.

"He is the ruler of the Keyblades", Dack responded. "He sends them to the chosen wielders from their posts when the time is dire. That's how you got yours; I'm sure. One could say that he's the heart of every keyblade. Now when you saved the World, he must have thought that every danger was gone, so he sent the Keyblade back to its post and this is probably the case for Mickey as well."

"What do you mean 'post', Dack?" inquired Sora. "Is it where it's kept?"

"Yeah, they each have their own spot in the worlds", he said. "They can be found and used if a person is worthy for the Keyblade, but the Master of Keyblade can always call it back."

"Why doesn't he know about what's going on now?" Sora asked.

"He's not omnipotent", Dack said. "There are thousands of worlds and, right now, only one has been disturbed; that's too subtle."

"Can we go and tell him about it?" asked Sora. "He's gotta be reachable."

"That's a good idea", Dack said. "If we can find him, then we can get the Keyblades back and stop Maleficent."

Suddenly, they both flashed and the world before their eyes altered to that of a brass cage. They were on a lift stop elevator.

"Hey, guys", said Cid. "We figured it'd better if we brought ya'll in."

The trip to their destination was a long, silent one. No one really felt like talking. The three of them felt it better to save the discussion with everyone else.

The elevator came to a ledge that was high into the air. Cid led them into a doorway of the building. They preceded down a hallway with many more lift stop cables visible through the clear wall on their right side. The doorway at the end led them back outside to where there were stairs, but they were two large ones.

All three of them climbed them and got to the top. There was a walkway leading to another doorway. They stepped in and went through a hallway similar to the last. Sora knew where had been going. The next room that they entered was the Castle Chapel.

Everyone (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Simon, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Merlin) was waiting there. There was a table there, but only Merlin sat at it, even though there were chairs for everyone. The room was not as dark and dreary as Sora recalled. It looked polished and had proper lighting. It actually looked very nice to him now.

Dack and Aerith had their focus on each other.

"Dack!" she shouted as she ran to him.

Dack received her in full embrace and they hugged tightly.

"Let's talk later, okay", he told her.

Aerith nodded and Sora looked perplexed.

"Right", Merlin said. "Getting down to business, we know now that Disney Castle has been taken over by Maleficent and the King's former court official, Drazen. We also know that Mickey and Sora have lost the ability to use their Keyblades, Kairi a Princess of Heart was taken by these same enemies and her nobody is here now, Sora also has his nobody and that confirms that they have Kairi captive."

"What?" Sora interjected. "How?"

"Well, we know that Roxas was left behind with you, Sora", Merlin said. "And if Naminé was there and Kairi disappeared with the Heartless, then it would only be right to guess that they have her."

Sora looked glum. Kairi was not just gone; she was behind enemy lines. How was he going to rescue her? The thought troubled him.

"We have to go and save her!" Sora cried. "Now! We don't have time to waste!"

"Now don't be hasty, Sora", Merlin said. "We can't do anything as of this moment."

"Why not?" Sora fiercely interrogated.

"Because…" Leon began. "The point is to not just save Kairi, but the whole kingdom and Mickey already gave us his full account while you were gone and that includes the fact that Maleficent and Drazen used the King's soldiers. They have managed to control them and use them, but their still apart of the kingdom and they still need to be saved, so acting too quickly might do more harm than good."

"But…" Sora tried.

"I'm sorry, Sora, but there's nothing to be done", said Merlin.

"Moving on…" Leon said. "We need to figure out what will happen next. We know from passed experiences that Maleficent wants to conquer as many worlds as possible, but stopping her Heartless and the King's army is impossible for us alone. Since she already knows that we are here, then she will probably strike here next and soon, so we need a plan to stop her."

"Well, I have an idea", Dack said.

"Alright, Dack, what is it?" Merlin asked.

"All of the worlds have special keyholes that connect each other or are still unlocked", Dack uttered. "The one between this world and Disney Castle's is unlocked, but we can lock it back up with the Keyblade."

"That's good and all, but we don't have that anymore", Leon argued.

"Yes, but can still get them", said Dack. "If we find the Master of Keyblade, then we can get it back and seal the hole."

"Master of Keyblade?" Yuffie asked.

"He's in charge of the keyblades", Dack said.

"Well, I'll take the AMU's word for it", Merlin added. "But not even you know where to find him, do you?"

"Unfortunately, no, but there are ways of finding out", answered Dack. "The world rulers were all given scriptures hinting his whereabouts along with many other secrets to the world that would is otherwise unbeknownst to a common individual. Ansem the Wise must have had these and they may be in this castle still."

"Well, then we would probably find it in a year or two years", complained Yuffie. "This castle is huge and we still do not know how many secret places there are built in here."

"Even so, Ansem never mentions such documents in his reports", Merlin said. "With such disregard to the balance of the heart and the worlds, he would have been careless enough to mention it."

"He does imply it", Aerith inserted. "He does claim to know that hearts exist in everything of this world."

"The scriptures would have to explain hearts if the Master of Keyblade were explained and I know that for a fact", said Dack. "However, Ansem did keep much of his research private, even amongst his most loyal subjects. They would probably be hidden deep, below the castle where he did his experiments. But Ansem is history now and the only ones that could provide any hint to the whereabouts of them are deceased as well."

Sora heard someone enter. It was his best friend, Riku.

"Hey, thought I'd drop by", he said.

"Riku, you should be resting", Merlin commanded.

"No, I want to know what's going on", he contested. "Besides, there might be a way to find those scriptures."

"You heard that much?" Merlin asked.

"I heard a lot when I had to lie on the floor to catch my breath…" Riku joked. "…but getting to the point, Ansem's apprentice, Xehanort, would definitely have known where it is and Xehanort's Heartless…I still feel him in my heart. Maybe, we could draw his memories out of my heart."

"That's not possible for the time being, considering your injuries", Merlin said.

"Why not?" asked Sora.

"When you and Kairi generated that light as you were separated, Riku was hurt by it because he was using the power of darkness to fight the Heartless", Merlin explained. "Not only did it damage his body, but it fractured his heart. Before we can delve into his memories, his heart must completely heal. Now, Riku, you must return to your room right this moment!"

"No, I…" Riku began to say, but he fell to the ground.

"Riku!" Sora shouted.

He ran to Riku and helped him up.

"I'm taking him back", Sora said.

He walked off with Riku's hand over Sora's shoulder, Sora giving him support. They walked fairly far and it surprised Sora that Riku made it all the way here. He finally got Riku back to the bed in his room and Riku lay down, exhausted.

"Sora, I know that you feel bad about Kairi", he said. "I'm worried too, but they're right."

"But Riku, what if they hurt her?" Sora despaired.

"They will probably try to use her; she'll be fine", Riku said.

"Riku…I'm sorry, it's my fault you're hurt", he said.

"You just worry about getting Kairi back and helping everyone fix this so we can get home again", Riku said.

"Okay, I'll do that", assured Sora.

Riku fell asleep. He did look very tired. Sora felt bad for him, mostly because this was his fault and, even more, Riku's injuries were slowing down their only chance to stop Maleficent. Sora sighed and stepped out of the room into the hallway.

----------------------------------------------

"Well, since we have lain down what needs to be known, this meeting is dismissed", Merlin announced.

He disappeared in a poof of smoke and everyone else walked away to resume other matters, except for Dack and Aerith. They hastily approached one another.

They met in a hug and kissed amorously. They relinquished each other's lips and gazed deeply into their lover's eyes. Aerith admired his hazel glint, and short, golden hair, his masculine chin, and hint of whiskers upon his muzzle.

"Dack, I missed you", she said.


	8. Chapter 8

Sora walked down the halls of the castle. All that his mind thought of was Kairi. He worried greatly about her. She was in the hands of the enemy and Sora's worst foe. The notion was like poison to Sora. He could not bear the thought, nor could he abandon it. Fortunately, for him, Merlin appeared before him in a poof of pale blue smoke.

"Ah, Sora, you're here", Merlin said. "I wanted to talk to you. I can tell that you are not well. I had to repeat Riku's condition to you in the counsel."

"Oh, that's right, man, I'm stupid", said Sora.

"Was you absentmindedness due to Kairi's misfortune?" Merlin inquired.

"Yeah, I guess", replied Sora.

"Well, I thought so" Merlin commented. "That is why I did not make your self-proclaimed stupidity known. I was not about to embarrass you before everyone."

"Thanks", Sora simply put. "Do you think there is a way to save Kairi?"

"I'm afraid that I have no such answer", Merlin grieved. "But we should keep our hopes high."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to see what everyone else is up to", Sora stated.

"Farewell, then", Merlin said and he disappeared in the smoke of blue.

Sora walked for several minutes, navigating his way through the many corridors of the royal home. He knew it all well from his days fighting here a year ago and the day before. He found someone that he did not expect, Roxas.

"Hey, Roxas, you missed our meeting", he said.

"Oh, well I was just seeing Naminé", answered Roxas.

"Is she okay?" asked Sora.

"She'll be better, but she is resting now", Roxas said.

"Oh, you seemed really concerned, you know", Sora inferred.

"Yeah, I am", spoke Roxas. "She and I are alike. She understands what it's like to be a Nobody."

"Yeah, but I can't help but feel concerned for her too", confessed Sora. "It's like she's a long time friend of mine."

"Yes, you met her before", Merlin said.

"WHAT!" Sora exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, but that is irrelevant right now", Merlin explained. "Now, for an answer on the Master of Keyblade, you might want to see Yen Sid about it; he might know. Go find Dack and then you both go to the Postern."

Sora nodded in appreciation and sped off to find Dack.

----------------------------------------

Dack and Aerith trotted slowly through the corridors, holding hands.

"Why did you leave?" Aerith asked.

"I'm sorry, I had to", Dack said.

"You couldn't have at least told me first?" she stung.

Dack cringed and then said, "I couldn't afford to. My errand had to be a secret…if the Organization found out about you—"

"But I was worried", she stung again.

"I'm sorry, but I had to. I needed to keep you safe. What would you have done if you were in my place?" he asked desperately.

"I would have found time to inform you, Dack" she replied.

"An AMU survivor has little time as it is," Dack rebutted. "Listen, can we go and discuss this in a place more private?"

"What about your place?" Aerith asked.

"It got damaged in the battle", he confessed. "The Heartless destroyed it."

"I saw you there, fighting with them", Dack said. "I wanted to be there and help and to keep you safe, but I had to lay low."

"Dack, I want to ask you something", she said. "Do you know what happened to Cloud?"

"Why?" Dack asked.

"You said that you followed Sora; did you see what happened?" she replied.

"He disappeared in a flash of light", he told her. "I don't know where to find him. Aerith, I know how worried you are but—"

"No you don't", she snapped. "I am worried about Cloud. He vanished like you did, but at least he told me why! I know that he wanted to see me off properly because he cared. What do you care about more, me or some mission that's just in your head?"

"What do you want me to do?" Dack asked, now angered. "Listen, I'm sorry that I haven't been there for you during all this, but I haven't thought about you any less."

Aerith peered deeply into his eyes. They seemed like vast springs of emotion and pain. She frowned, but slightly, to avoid slurring what she would say to him next.

"Dack—" she began, but was interrupted because at that moment, Sora came running in full haste to see Dack. Dack immediately relinquished her hand and faced Sora.

"Dack, we need you", he said.

"Okay, Sora…Aerith, I'm sorry", Dack said as he walked away.

Sora led Dack to the Postern. As he arrived, Cid was waiting for them with a crew of men and a ship hovering behind them.

"We're gonna round up our fleet, Sora", Cid grumbled. "You can go with yer pals here."

The gummi ship came into view with Donald, Goofy, and the King in the cockpit. Sora and Dack beamed into it and appeared right next to Goofy. Donald set the controls and the ship took off into the skies.

"Who's ready to see Twilight Town?" Donald cheerfully asked.

-----------------------------------

Drazen discussed his plans with the top military officials. Maleficent watched carefully, intrigued, but not eager to speak. She already knew the actions that would take place. There was a large, square table before them all. It projected a hologram of the world and the neighboring one, specifically Radiant Garden.

"When will your forces be organized, Arcson?" inquired Drazen.

"No more than two days, My Lord", he replied.

"What about you?" Drazen asked.

Maleficent smiled as he asked this to each commander. Once all of them confirmed his inquisitions, he dismissed them. He approached her and sat by her in the throne next to her.

"Your Heartless should not be in the fleet assault."

This remark both surprised and upset Maleficent.

"Why?" she asked.

"They failed to stop Minnie, Sora, and the former king" he replied curtly.

"My Heartless are the reason that our coup d'etat even worked!" thundered Maleficent. "You are an ungrateful and helpless worm! You would be nowhere without me!"

Green flames of darkness roared around her. She raised her staff and she glowed with a malignant radiance. The room became darker and large, mangled thorns swept around the throne room creating a wall forged from evil, thriving vortices. Drazen reveal a second surprise to Maleficent as his expression remained not faltered. She was enraged further by his audacity.

"SINK INTO THE DARK OBLIVION!" she echoed as she sent a force of darkness at Drazen to smite him.

The blast halted where Drazen stood for a moment and then was flung away and exploded as it crashed into a vast wall. To her surprise, Maleficent had not harmed Drazen. He stood there, brandishing a broad shield. Upon further inspection, she saw that it was gray and silver with carvings the shaped out wings, vines, and four appendages along the rim that appeared to be miniature handles showing a similar shape to that of a teacup's handle. Each handle had embedded in it a red gem and in the center of the shield was the image of a keyhole.

This stunned and disturbed Maleficent.

"Is that the Shield of…" she began to ask.

"I thought we had a mutual agreement", spat out Drazen as he interrupted her.

"How true" she agreed. "And I would not want to be a liar, my dear Drazen."

The green flames that remained gathered in the center of the throne room, expanded in a line, and dissected the room, the castle, and the entire world.

"You stay on your half and I will stay on mine," she said as she left.

-------------------------------------------------

They quickly arrived in Twilight Town and disembarked. Sora fathomed the joy of seeing Hayner and the gang, but he knew there was no time. They all hastily ran to the train station and boarded the ghost train. Sora took his seat close to the rear of the train while Donald and Goofy sat up front to gaze at the sights. Dack remained standing with his arm resting against a pole.

"Dack, I want to ask you something," said Sora.

"What is it?" mumbled Dack.

"How do you know Aerith?" asked Sora.

"After Ansem, The Seeker of Darkness was defeated, I came to Hollow Bastion. As you know, I am a devoted AMU unit. I was in search of the cause of all the mayhem and chaos that had erupted from Maleficent and the Heartless. I knew that Ansem the Wise would have a large amount if information about who was causing this and other vital clues. I myself had hoped to find the Ansem Reports to see if he knew anything important."

"You met her there?" inquired Sora.

"Yeah, we did," Dack said.

"We?" Sora asked again.

"My former partner and I," Dack resumed. "We both were looking for the Ansem Report as a team, actually. We went to the library and he searched the lower floor of the room while I took the stairs. We had not seen anyone in the castle. Everyone was outside in the town rebuilding. I was very surprised to find her there, searching through the books."

"That must have been just after I saved the World from Ansem," Sora said.

"Yeah, and I was disappointed to hear she gave the Ansem Reports that remained there away," Dack said.

"Well, wouldn't you have left then since there was no point in it?" Sora asked.

"No, there was still more to discover in the hidden rooms of the castle," replied Dack. I helped her and the rest of the committee find most of the hidden sections within a few weeks and I left soon."

"Where did you go?" Sora questioned. "The worlds were separated after that."

"Actually, it took a long time for many of the worlds to return to normal and become separate," Dack corrected. "The bridge to Twilight Town and Hollow Bastion remain open so I went there. I met Ansem the Wise under the guise of DiZ. He asked my partner and I to do him a favor in exchange for the information that we wanted. His terms were that we infiltrate the Organization's stronghold and then we receive our information."

"If it were me, then I wouldn't have, not with all of them around at once," Sora griped. "But did you do what he wanted?"

"Yes, but there is no time to talk about this anymore," answered Dack. "We are at Yen Sid's tower now."

The ghost train came to a stop and the four of them got off and approached the entrance. Dack pushed it open and they began scaling the stairs and entered the first portal. The room it contained was empty and they continued out and onto the stair case and encountered nothing on the entire climb up to Yen Sid's study. That was the problem, nothing, because as they reached that point, they realized that no one was there.

"Where is he?" asked Dack in awe.

Dack dashed into the wardrobe room and found no one.

"He's not here."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy were both surprised at this too. They all sighed in unison and paused for a moment until Goofy looked at Yen Sid's desk in anticipation.

"Hey, maybe he left us a note to read," Goofy said.

Goofy approached the desk and looked intently.

"Hmmm…there it is, I found it!" he cheered.

"Let me see it!" Donald screeched as he stole it from Goofy's hand.

Donald began to read it.

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_I expect King Mickey or Sora to be the only ones concerned, but I am no longer in attendance as Maleficent has revived and she spawned in this tower, very much alive!_

"Let me see it, Donald," Sora said as he took it. "You are not good at reading things."

"But I was using that," whined Donald

"You took it from Goofy", argued Sora.

"Yeah—But—OHHH!" Donald cried.

Sora finished reading the letter aloud.

_To keep the fairies safe and myself, I evacuated us to Traverse Town, which has somehow returned to existence. I may not be there for long and if you need me, then expect to find another notice._

_Yours truly,_

_Master Yen Sid_

"Well, I guess we'd better get moving" Dack said from the staircase.

"Hey, wait up!" Sora shouted.


End file.
